About the Montrose Area

Hub city of southwestern Colorado, Montrose is unique! It enjoys a mild climate nestled in the Uncompahgre Valley surrounded by high mountains and plateaus, with short winters, beautiful springs and falls and pleasant summers. It is a perfect place to do business, live, work and to retire!

The city, itself, takes special pride in its new airport, Aquatic Center, Main Street, the Pavilion and other unique sites!

Location . . .

Served by US highways 50 & 550, Montrose is located about 250 miles west/southwest of Denver in the most beautiful part of Colorado! Grand Junction is 65 miles north of Montrose, and Durango, home of the Durango-Silverton narrow gauge railroad, is about 100 miles away over the famous Million Dollar Highway. About 75 minutes south of Montrose is the famous skiing and summer festival town of Telluride.

Exceptional Airport . . .

Located on the north edge of Montrose, the airport is just five minutes from the heart of town. The facility is quite unusual for a town of just over 10,000 residents. It has seating for 120 people in the secure area (through metal detectors) and seating for 100 more outside the secure area with more room available when it is needed. Conveyors and automatic baggage handling is installed. Commuter airlines include jet service during ski season.

Education –

Mesa State College- Montrose Campus offers a variety of associate degree programs.  Delta-Montrose Technical College offering technical certificate programs and courses in health, trades, business and technical fields at the secondary and post secondary levels.  There are two colleges within a 65 mile radius – Mesa State in Grand Junction and Western State in Gunnison.

Hospital Facilities . . .

Montrose Memorial Hospital is an attractive and modern 75-bed facility is a regional medical center providing an extensive range of sophisticated healthcare services to meet the highest level of medical care. A community the size of Montrose is very fortunate to have such a facility.
Specialties at the hospital include: anesthesiology, otorhinolaryngology (ear, nose, throat), facial plastic reconstructive and cosmetic surgery, dermatology, emergency medicine, family practice, general practice, general surgery, internal medicine, neurology, certified nurse midwife, obstetrics and gynecology, ophthalmology, orthopedics, pathology, pediatrics, psychiatry, radiology and urology.

The San Juan Cancer Center which opened in April 2006 offers radiation treatments for oncology patients, in addition to medical oncology (chemotherapy) treatment. 

Black Canyon Surgical Center opened in February 2006 to offer high quality, patient focused surgical care to the residents of Montrose and surrounding communities.
 

Economy . . .

The Montrose County economy has maintained stability through its diversity. Service is the leading occupational category followed by retail trade, agriculture and manufacturing.

Russell Stover Candies is one of the larger employers in the area. Their famous candies are shipped from Montrose to destinations all over the world.

The Bureau of Land Management has a regional office in Montrose. Other government employers include the Colorado Division of Wildlife.

History . . .

Originally Montrose County was home to the Ute Indians.  Chief Ouray and his wife Chipeta were famous figures in that era.  The Ute Indian Museum and Ouray Memorial Park are located south of town on Highway 550.  The museum is open year round. 

The town of Montrose was founded in 1882, a short time after the Ute Indians were removed from the Uncompahgre (Un come pah gray) Valley. The town was named after a Sir Walter Scott novel. Early Montrose was a typical frontier freighting and cow town. Gun play, quarreling and saloon brawls were common and made history and legend.

At the turn of the century, the settlers of the highly fertile, semi-arid valley explored the formerly inaccessible regions of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison River. The result of this search for irrigation water was one of the first of the Bureau of Reclamation projects and an astounding engineering feat - the 7 mile long Gunnison Tunnel, which turned the valley into an agricultural mecca.

Montrose County Historic Museum . . .

Just a few blocks west of the main intersection in town (Main and Townsend) stands the County Museum which is housed in the original Denver & Rio Grande Railroad Depot. The museum focuses on all facets of early-day pioneer life, highlighted by a walk-through of a Homesteader's Cabin. This cabin is equipped with furnishings and memorabilia of one family who owned the cabin. The museum is noted as having one of the most extensive collections of farm machinery in the state. Horse-drawn reapers, planters, plows and a hay baler are among the collection. The museum's "County Store" exhibits wares and household objects needed for early-day living, along with a collection of tools. The Children's Corner contains exhibits of dolls, toys and baby furniture. Some of the permanent displays of the museum include musical instruments, clothing items, and mining and medical equipment. The museum's library contains a complete set of Montrose newspapers from 1896-1940, a photo collection of the Montrose area, historical publications, and oral histories.

Great Place For Special Events . . .

The Montrose Pavilion provides the perfect environment for a diversity of activities, including expanded services to senior citizens, a conference center, and cultural enrichment of a performing arts center. Over 9,000 sq ft in the Pavilion is dedicated to senior citizens dining, recreation and social activities. A crafts area, billiard/game room, stage and hardwood dance floor are all provided. A cozy fireplace and huge skylights add to the warm, inviting atmosphere.

The showplace of the Pavilion is the 602-seat auditorium theater which offers the ideal setting for all types of performing arts programs from ballet to drama to symphony concerts, including state-of-the-art lighting, sound and audio/visual technology.

Over 6,000 sq ft of space is available for meetings, banquets and other group activities. A catering kitchen is available for preparing and serving group meals. With the new facility, Montrose is attracting local and out of town groups as well.

Recreation Galore . . .

Montrose has four 18 hole golf courses and one 9 hole golf course.  Black Canyon Golf Club founded in 1960, is a semi-private course open to the public, Cobble Creek an 18 hole course and residential community, Cimarron Creek Golf Community is a 9 hole public course and residential community and Cornerstone Colorado an 18 hole residential community and private resort club.

The new Aquatic Center is home not only for water sport fun but promotes other Montrose Recreation District activities as well, including low impact aerobic and Tae Kwon Do classes, softball leagues, senior games, and many other activities. Montrose residents recently approved a 1/2% temporary sales tax increase to fund a new library and higher education center.

Montrose golfers enjoy a wide variety of choices. In addition to the excellent course in Montrose with new clubhouse, restaurant and lounge, other municipal courses include Gunnison, Delta, Cedaredge (new), Log Hill Mesa near Ridgway, Skyland (south of Crested Butte), Tamarron (east of Purgatory Ski Resort) and more!

Another facet of Montrose's quality of life is its proximity to both road and mountain bike opportunities. Miles of uncongested paved county roads zigzag through the valley surrounding Montrose. They complement the well-known "Black Canyon Ascent" on Highway 347 and the "Black Mesa Loop" on highways 50 and 92.

Flowing through the "lower gorge" of the Black Canyon, the Gunnison River provides the best gold medal fishing in the country and the area is most spectacular!

Montrose is an ideal location for downhill skiers. The world-famous Telluride Ski Area is just an hour and fifteen minutes south of Montrose, while the Powderhorn Ski Area is the same distance to the north. Cross country skiing is a fast growing winter activity. Montrose is perfectly located for the experience with recently developed trails on the Uncompahgre Plateau and the Black Canyon.

Western Colorado is world famous for hunting and an outdoor paradise! Within a 75-mile radius of Montrose, you have access to 7 national forests, 9 wilderness areas, 12 major rivers, hundred of lakes and reservoirs, dozens of camping alternatives from full service to campouts, miles of recreational trails, endless backpacking, climbing and adventure hiking, off road or 4-wheel driving to satisfy any skill or thrill level, hundreds of miles of designated "skyway" and "byway" routes.

Area Attractions . . .

Telluride, features a host of recreation and entertainment including Mountain Village Ski Resort, as well as a variety of festivals including the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Telluride Wine Festival, Blues and Brews Festival, Telluride Jazz Festival and Telluride Film Festival.

Olathe, featuring Olathe Sweet Corn and their annual Olathe Sweet Corn Festival which includes live music, all you can eat sweet corn and a variety of vendors.  This festival is suitable for the whole family.
 

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument offers some of the most spectacular sights in the area and is just minutes from downtown Montrose!

Ouray, about 40 minutes south of Montrose, is nicknamed "Switzerland of America" owing to the grandeur of the surrounding peaks. Ouray was founded in 1876 (the same year Colorado became a state) as a mining town and still maintains the flavor of late 19th century architecture.

Ridgway Dam and Reservoir, about 25 minutes south of Montrose, is a state operated park with boating, campgrounds, swimming, fishing and hiking available.

Grand Mesa, about 45 minutes north of Montrose, is the largest flattop mountain in the United States with innumerable lakes for fishing, many hiking and snowmobile trails as well as campgrounds and the Powderhorn ski area.

Owl Creek Pass, an easy 85-mile round trip from Montrose, is a magnificent area just east of Cimarron.

Curecanti National Recreation Area is another easy trip for an interesting day! Visit Colorado's largest lake (Blue Mesa Reservoir) and experience some magnificent mountain vistas.

Mesa Verde National Park, at the very southwestern tip of Colorado, is also a wonderful day-trip from Montrose.